Cultural Interview Analysis

In such a multicultural world, being knowledgeable and understanding of not only your cultural background, but that of others is essential. Building my awareness on cultures different from my own, and how it shapes an individual’s identity, will foster my personal and professional development. Subsequently, I conducted a cultural interview with an individual whose cultural background differed from my own. Several similarities and differences between our cultures were apparent in the interview, specifically in the areas of race, ethnicity, language, values, and worldview.
The interviewee identified as a Salvadorian-American heterosexual woman. She is bilingual and speaks English and Spanish. However, she explained that she is not fluent in Spanish because of the environments she was exposed to as a child growing up in America. She does not receive pressure to speak Spanish from her mother but rather from her church. Thus, church leads her family to practice the language more in the home. On the contrary, I identify as an Armenian-American heterosexual woman. Similar to my interviewee, I am also bilingual. However, I speak English and Armenian, but unlike my interviewee, I am fluent in both languages. Here I

learned that I share similarities with my interviewee regarding language, that I was unaware of before conducting this interviewee.
Several identities are molded from one’s family values and history. Consequently, my interviewee describes that the structure of her family was nontraditional. She explained that she did not have a father figure growing up, and was raised by a single parent. She also mentioned that she did not have a large and connected family, but rather distant relatives whom she has no contact with. A significant portion of her aunts and uncles are adopted and she has never been introduced to them. Her relationship with her maternal grandparents was dysfunctional and her siblings, her mother, and her do not associate with them as they were abusive towards the family. Her mother fled from that lifestyle in order to give her children a better life. She states that her biological father was never in the picture. Unfortunately, due to her family being separated and detached, she is unknowledgeable about her cultural history. When asking my interviewee about her culture she stated that she does not believe she has a culture, and this has negatively affected her personal and professional life. She mentioned that she is working towards attaining her Bachelor of Arts degree with an emphasis in History. Subsequently, she strongly values genealogy and culture and feels as if there is a piece of her missing because she is uninformed about her lineage. She feels it is important to know her family origins as a Central American woman. Similar to my interviewee, family history plays an important role in my life and is the reason for several of my identities. However, unlike my interviewee, I am very knowledgeable about my family history and cultural background. Also, in my family being connected and close has always been a priority, as it ensures our safety and happiness. Preceding this interview, I realized that I am privileged to have knowledge about my family history and that this is a tremendous value that I did not know I possessed.
Additionally, my interviewee and I share similar viewpoints on the importance of education.

Both my interviewee and I identify as working class, biracial, and first-generation women. Subsequently, seeing our families struggle through dire financial situations, motivated us to get an education. We understand how difficult it must have been for our them to venture to a new land and face language barriers that prevented them from working in a well-paying career. My interviewee and I understand that we hold systemic privilege by being citizens of the United States and fluent English speakers, a feature our families did not have. Thus, we both believe that pursuing higher education will provide us with stability and the best future for ourselves and our

families.
Unquestionably, conducting this cultural interview made me mindful of the similarities, privileges, and differences I hold between my culture and those who are culturally different. I am determined to be knowledgeable and aware of all cultures and their aspects in order to be an effective counselor. I strive to be respectful, nonjudgmental, and to not project my own cultural values on to others so that I can grow in my personal and professional life.